1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of agitating devices for shaking containers of material and in particular aerosol canisters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of materials are stored in various types of containers. In many cases, the containers must be violently moved or agitated in order to evenly mix the material therein. For example, fairly large paint container shakers may be found in hardware stores that violently shake the container both in a vertical and horizontal direction. Some containers are relatively small thereby not requiring such a large apparatus to achieve uniform mixing within the container. A number of U.S. patents have been granted on such devices.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,201, a paint mixing machine is disclosed that mixes paint by shaking the can of paint violently and rapidly. An electric motor is mounted to the mixing device for causing movement of the container holder.
In lieu of permanently mounting the driving motor to the container holder, devices have been provided wherein a portable tool, such as a sander or rotary drill, is removably attached to the container holder. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,997,787 discloses a cradle for holding a can of paint or an aerosol spray paint container with the cradle then being connected to a handheld reciprocating power tool. Operation of the reciprocating power tool results in reciprocating movement of the paint container. It can be appreciated that the holder of the reciprocating power tool receives the reciprocating force and must tightly hold onto the power tool as it conveys the reciprocating motion.
Another type of device for importing reciprocating motion to a container of material is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,330,537 wherein the container of material is mounted to and beneath the sanding plate of a portable sander. Operation of the handheld sander then imparts reciprocating motion not only to the container of material but also to the user.
Utilization of a handheld rotary power tool avoids the issue of reciprocating motion applied to the user since the chuck of the rotary tool imparts rotary motion to the cradle holding the container of material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,193 discloses a rotary drill removably engageable with a cradle for holding a spray can. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,420,262 and 4,318,622 disclose an apparatus for utilizing a handheld power drill for shaking paint containers and the like. Another approach is to mount an aerosol can atop a vibrator which then shakes the aerosol can. Typically, vibrators are not readily available in the handyman's tool chest.
A further approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,205 wherein a flexible membrane is attachable to a tool having a reciprocal motion output, such as a jigsaw. The flexible membrane forms a suction bond with the concave bottom surface of an aerosol can and reciprocates the can.
A portable device powered by rotary hand drill is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,105 wherein the output of the rotary drill is removably attached to a cam mounted in a housing containing the container of material to be mixed. Repeated engagement of the cam with the bottom of the aerosol container results in reciprocal motion of the container within the holder.
Despite all of the various techniques and devices known to mix materials within a container or canister, there is still a need for a lightweight device powered by a tool that is commonly readily available. Such a power tool is a rotary drill which typically is lightweight and can be held in one hand while the container of material is movably mounted within a housing. The motion imparted must be limited in that the violent motion should not be imparted to the holder of the power drill but yet sufficient so as to move the container in such a manner to thoroughly mix the material therein. Disclosed herein is such a device which imparts not only reciprocal motion to the container of material but also rotary motion along the longitudinal axis of the container.